


Reawakening

by WestOrEast



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29470008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WestOrEast/pseuds/WestOrEast
Summary: Taylor's trapped, she needs to get out of here, she needs to escape. And even when she does, she's still in deep trouble, alone and friendless.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 54





	Reawakening

**Reawakening**

  
This couldn’t be happening. I was _blind_ and I was trapped and I was going mad and I couldn’t get _out_.  
  
I kept on beating on the locker door but I couldn’t break it down. I was too _weak_. I couldn’t do anything. And nobody was coming for me, either. I couldn’t, couldn’t-  
  
I threw up again. There was nothing left in my stomach by now and the locker was already so gross and disgusting that it barely added to the mess. But it still made me feel that much worse. I was _trapped_ and nobody was coming and I was going to _die_ in here.  
  
I needed to get out of here. I needed to go _somewhere_. I needed to not be here. But there was nothing that weak Taylor Hebert could do. These filthy metal walls were keeping me trapped and nobody was going to open the locker door and I was, I was-  
  
I started crying again and kept on trying to call out for help. My throat _burned_ , like I had been made to swallow nails. I could barely hear my own voice over the pounding in my head. And I certainly couldn’t hear anyone outside the locker.  
  
How long had I been in here? Minutes? Days? Hours? I couldn’t tell. It all blended together into this awful haze, that kept on making me feel _horrible_ and there was nothing I could do but smell this awful smell and taste it on my tongue and I was _trapped_ in here.  
  
I, I needed something, I needed anything, I needed-

*******

“Flywire’s drones have Jack Slash, Oddball and the Siberian inside of this grocery store,” Longshot said, tapping a map being projected from her teammate’s hand-sized computer. “The other three confirmed members of the Nine are scattered throughout the woods and constantly moving.” She frowned. “No sign of Mannequin, though.”  
  
“They’re also constantly destroying my drones so this is as much information as we’re going to get on them,” Flywire said, showing more irritation over the loss of his work than the images of what the Nine were doing to the people that had been in the grocery store. “I say we get in there now before anything more happens.”  
  
“The Guild says that it will be at least an hour before they’ll be able to get an A-list team out to us,” Steel Eagle said, looking up from her phone. “Can we wait that long?”  
  
“No, we can’t,” Longshot said, sighing heavily. “How many civilians are still alive, Flywire?”  
  
“Maybe twenty or so?” Flywire said, nodding at the tour bus that was still sitting in the store’s parking lot. “At least, I think so. That’s the ones that haven’t been gotten by the Nine. I can’t tell how many of the others are still alive.”  
  
“We’re going in, aren’t we?” Daydream asked, sounding like she wanted to throw up. “To fight the Nine.”  
  
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Longshot said, looking at the other woman. Daydream’s cheeks were a pale green and had been ever since she had looked at an image feed of what Bonesaw had been doing. “Nobody’s going to blame you for staying back here.”  
  
“N-no,” Daydream said, shaking her head, making her long blond ponytail shake back and forth. “We,” she swallowed hard, her throat working, “we’ve got to stop the Yanks from letting their trash spill over the border.”  
  
Longshot’s eyes were hidden behind her visor, so she felt safe in rolling them. Still, if that was what Daydream needed to tell herself to get ready to fight, then Longshot wasn’t going to stop her.  
  
Longshot sighed and looked over at the grocery store. It wasn’t as big as the ones you got in the cities. Only half again as big as a restaurant. And inside… there wasn’t anything good. Which meant that her team needed to do everything they could to get the people inside of it _out_. The people that were being hunted in the forest… at least the Nine weren’t literally on top of them. If she and her friends- survived, then they could try and help the ones getting chased in the woods.  
  
“Alright, team,” Longshot said, doing her best to sound confident and in charge. “We hit the store and focus on getting people out. Eagle, I want you blocking the Nine inside there. Remember, the Siberian can get through _anything_ , so don’t try and face off against her. Daydream, do your best to distract her and keep her, hell, running into the walls or something.”  
  
“What about me?” Flywire said, in a tone that said while he wanted to stay back at the rest stop, he knew he wasn’t going to.  
  
“You and I are going to be working on getting the civvies out of there and into our cars,” Longshot said firmly. Make sure to leave your keys in the ignition so we don’t have to waste time getting the right person in the right car.”  
  
She got nods from Daydream and Flywire. Steel Eagle was too poor to own a car instead of a scooter and she had hitched a ride with Daydream like usual.  
  
“Remember, we’re not here to fight the Nine,” Longshot said, doing her best to catch the eye of each of her friends and teammates. “We’re here to protect people, just like we always do.”  
  
“We couldn’t fight them if we wanted to,” Steel Eagle muttered, putting her phone away in the pocket of her bomber jacket.  
  
“Of course we can,” Longshot said, squashing _that_ before it could get started. “You think the Nine would have stopped by The Happy Fir Trading Post if they had a choice? They’re running like the yellowbellied cowards they always have been. They know that if they stick around here to try and duke it out with us, Narwhal or Dragon will smear them all over the pavement. We’re going in there, we’re getting those people out of here and we’re going to know that we won against the Slaughterhouse Nine, understand?”  
  
The three ‘yes, ma’am’s’ she got weren’t the most enthused that Longshot had gotten in her five years of leading the Markham Protection Squad. But they were all willing to _do_ this. To go out there and do what heroes, even heroes who made their living as a florist, housewife, plumber and waitress did.  
  
Everyone was getting ready. Flywire was putting up projectors that displayed the team’s logo on each of the three cars, which was a good idea that Longshot wished she had thought of herself. Daydream was muttering a prayer. Steel Eagle was stretching, limbering herself up. And Longshot was telling herself that they could do this, that they could go in, thumb their nose at the Nine and get out with everyone that needed rescuing.  
  
“Alright, team, _go_!” Longshot shouted, advancing towards the shattered glass doors.  
  
The team fell in behind her as they charged across the parking lot. They were approaching from the side, so hopefully the three villains inside the store didn’t even know that they were here yet. Longshot took a deep breath her hand dipping into a pouch and coming out with some steel balls. She wasn’t just going to aim at limbs and only throw at ten kilometers per hour this time.  
  
Steel Eagle was the first one inside the door. She let out a shout as she burst in, throwing her arms wide as a transparent eagle burst to life and started clawing and pecking at whatever was in front of it. Luckily that was just some stands of goods, rather than any of the people they were here to rescue.  
  
Longshot ducked by her friend and looked around. She could see a few huddled people in one of the aisles, looking like they had been put through the wringer. Her head swiveled around as she hurried towards them, trying to find where the _threat_ was.  
  
There. Longshot could see a white figure standing at the back of the store, next to the freezers. Longshot swallowed and whipped out her hand throwing out four ball bearings. At least two of them missed, since the glass doors behind the figure shattered. If the other two hit, she didn’t see any signs of it.  
  
“We’re here to rescue you!” Daydream said, going deeper into the store. Longshot winced as she felt the wave of disorientating euphoria wash over her, managing to push through it with long practice. “Can any of you stand?”  
  
“I’m afraid not, my dear,” a deeply amused voice said from the mass of people. A figure stood up and turned to look at the four heroes.  
  
Longshot was only kind of familiar with the composition of the Slaughterhouse Nine. But she was at least able to recognize Jack Slash. He was grinning at her, idly swinging a scalpel back and forth between his fingers but somehow not cutting himself.  
  
“I must say that it is terribly inconsiderate of you to come right now,” the well-dressed man said, stroking his thin goatee. “My friends and I have only just gotten started on the real fun of the day.”  
  
“No more fun, no more talking,” Longshot said flatly, grinning a bit as she saw a red dot appear on Jack Slash’s left shoulder before running to his chest. “Just hold still and die.”  
  
“That’s hardly a deal that I’m interested in taking,” Jack said, stepping behind a man tall enough that even when kneeling down, still came up to Jack’s chest. “In fact, I would much rather-.”  
  
He frowned and turned around, looking up at Flywire’s drones that were coming down from the ceiling. As he was distracted, Longshot and Steel Eagle charged forward. The white woman in the back was slowly walking forward, just _strolling_.  
  
Jack frowned as the drones he hadn’t managed to cut down landed on him. Longshot could see the crackle of electricity as the built-in tasers discharged and coughed at the tear gas spilling out as well. She could push past it, but the people on the ground weren’t doing as well.  
  
“Come on, come on,” Longshot said, grabbing the first woman she came to and hauling her to her feet. “Right outside and to your left, go for the three cars!”  
  
Then she cursed as the woman fell down to the ground, blood spilling out of a cut that went from her shoulder down to the small of her back, crossing over her spine. She looked up and scowled as the transparent eagle was interposed between her and Jack.  
  
“Really, trying to end this all so soon?” Jack asked, shaking his head as he drove the scalpel he was holding into the center of the last of the drones. “That’s hardly sporting. Siberian!” He raised his voice. “Go to the entrance, please.”  
  
There was a crash and clatter as the naked woman ran through the displays, sending food flying and wood falling to the ground. Flywire squeaked and jumped forward, landing on his face as he barely got out of the way in time.  
  
It all happened in less time than it took to think about it. Longshot shook her head and looked down at the woman in her arms. She was bleeding heavily and she was _heavy_ , fat enough that Longshot was straining to keep her upright.  
  
“Can you walk?” Longshot groaned, trying to lift the woman to her feet. “You need to be able to walk, darling!”  
  
“Sadly, Bonesaw didn’t have enough time to tend to-!”  
  
Jack was cut off as Longshot dropped the woman and started to empty her pouch, throwing ball bearings as fast as she could at the smirking man. He ducked out of the way, but at least he shut _up_. And his aim was off that for the few seconds Steel Eagle’s projection was out of the way, he didn’t land a hit on her as he slashed at her neck. Then the eagle was back in place, clawing at the floor and shattering a row of cracker boxes.  
  
Jack ducked around the end of a shelf. Longshot could hear him moving down along it and cursed, wishing that her balls had the power to punch through these shelves. She turned around, looking at the entrance as she waved her hand, collecting the balls she had already thrown.  
  
The Siberian was still there, slowly walking towards Flywire as he scrambled backwards, pressing up against Daydream. And where was Oddball? She hadn’t seen hide or hair of the third Slaughterhouse member inside of the store.  
  
Jack reappeared around the end of the aisle, standing next to the Siberian. He grinned widely as Steel Eagle quickly repositioned herself so that her eagle was facing the two of them. He stayed well out of range of the claws and beak, though, even as Steel Eagle enlarged it enough to start knocking food off of the shelves.  
  
What a disgusting pair, Longshot thought, staring at the two of them as her chest rose and fell. The worst of what humanity had to offer, looking all swanky in a lightly bloodstained shirt and nothing at all. She shook her head, trying to think of a good way to make Jack stand still long enough to take a hit or two from her ball bearings.  
  
“Now, ladies and gentlemen,” Jack said, sketching a short bow, “it seems that you have joined the people you were attempting to take from us.” He grinned widely. “I’m sure that Oddball will love to have fun with _you_ , my dear,” he said, looking at Daydream. “Perhaps you’ll come to understand just what your power really could be.”  
  
Longshot sighed at hearing that all Daydream was doing was making it harder to get the civilians to respond and act to what was happening to them. Actually, that may not be a _bad_ thing right now, but still.  
  
Behind Jack, the Siberian twitched, from head to toe. Her head started to swivel around, looking back and forth. Longshot tensed up, not sure what was about to happen but knowing that the enemy couldn’t be doing anything _good_.  
  
“I do believe that the lady in gunmetal would look better if she was too worried about her missing arm to possibly spoil the fun with her projection,” Jack said, looking straight at Steel Eagle with a satisfied smile on his face. “Siberian, would you mind removing one or both of them for me?”  
  
The Siberian didn’t respond to that. She just kept on twitching. Longshot swallowed, wondering what was going on. The look of confusion that passed over Jack’s face didn’t help her relax much.  
  
“Siberian?” Jack asked, sounding faintly concerned in his oh-so-smug voice. “Do you hear me?”  
  
The Siberian looked up, her entire body twitching and jerking. Her eyes were wide in her face and her head was swiveling around like someone on an overdose that Longshot had once seen. It was- strange. Very strange.  
  
“My dear,” Jack said, “do recall where you are and what we were doing.” He took a step closer to the naked woman. “Perhaps you would like to go and join Bonesaw in playing hide and s-!”  
  
Jack wasn’t the only to gasp. It seemed that everyone still in the store made some sound of shock. They all stared, looking at the hand that was buried inside of Jack’s stomach. Jack looked down at the white and black arm that was poking out from his torso and tried to twist his neck around to look at the hand that had just been pushed through him.  
  
“What,” Jack gasped out, staring up at the wide-eyed, panicked expression on the Siberian’s face, “are you…”  
  
Then the Siberian yanked her arm upwards and Longshot felt like throwing up. Jack Slash just… came apart. Daydream let out a shaking moan and Longshot reached over to pat her on the shoulder. Of all the things to pierce through the fog Daydream lived in, _this_ was what worked?  
  
“I, um, listen,” Longshot said, getting as close to Steel Eagle’s projection as she could, staring through it at the Siberian. “I… I don’t know why you just did- that!”  
  
The Siberian looked at her, an expression that still screamed panic on her face. Then she ran through the open doors, going as fast as she could. Longshot’s words died on her lips as she stared after the retreating form, that was quickly swallowed up by the forest on the other side of the rural road.  
  
What the hell had that just been? Seriously, what the hell happened? Longshot shook her head, looking down at Jack’s… body. Yes, that was certainly a body. There was no way that life could still be remaining there, though Longshot had a feeling that her dreams would say otherwise. She shivered and turned away.  
  
“O-okay, everyone,” Longshot said, shaking her head back and forth and looking at the crowd of people stuffed down along the aisle. “It’s, it’s time to get out of here.”  
  
Just what the hell had happened here? Longshot wasn’t sure if she was ever going to find out.


End file.
